Bridgewater-Raynham girls rebound to make tournament

Thursday

Feb 20, 2014 at 11:10 PMFeb 20, 2014 at 11:33 PM

Winning tradition returns to B-R

Steven SanchezGazette Sports Editor

One team. One family.The inspirational, heartfelt words of the Bridgewater-Raynham girls basketball team.It’s a team that has seen their share of adversity.A 35-game losing streak that began two seasons ago — including the first five games of this season — was staring these young females athletes and second-year head coach Meghan Driscoll in the face.But through it all, they remained undeterred.“Last year, we definitely were all frustrated” junior point guard Karlie Keating said. “We all tried our hardest. This year, we came together as a team.”The Trojans returned to their traditional winning ways in 2014, clinching a share of the Old Colony League title with rival Dartmouth and captured their first league title since 2010. Quite remarkable, considering they were one of three Eastern Mass. teams (Hanover and Milford) that finished with 0-20 records in 2013.B-R finished the regular season this year with a 7-13 record and 3-1 OCL mark. The Trojans now await the tournament seedings, which will come out today. “Day after day, the girls experienced losses,” said Driscoll, who won her first game as a coach against Cardinal Spellman on Dec. 28. “A lot of people would give up and not come back after going 0-20. All of them came back and said ‘hey let’s do this and have a great year’. They put the time in over the summer and it shows.” That faithful day in December, B-R trailed the Cardinals by nine points in the fourth quarter before coming back to win, 66-63. It was the Trojans’ first win in nearly 2 1/2 seasons. That victory also propelled them to win their next two games.“Oh we were ecstatic,” said B-R forward Emily Kenneally after her first varsity win as a player. “You should have seen us on the bus ride home. None of us could not sleep. We definitely made a huge improvement as a team. We all focused on not being individuals and really, revolving around building the team together as one unit.”Driscoll never experienced the pain of losing at B-R.The former four-year varsity starter was voted OCL MVP one year and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a senior in 2004. Driscoll was voted Bridgewater-Raynham’s Best Female Athlete Award. Her teams won three Old Colony League championship from her sophomore year to her senior campaign.Throughout her collegiate days at Stonehill College, Driscoll’s team never went through a losing drought that she experienced as a coach. She is currently 10th all-time in block shots (58) in Skyhawks women’s basketball history.“I was very fortunate to have played for a winning program here,” Driscoll said. “Even better, to go into a winning collegiate program at Stonehill. Then to come here and experience this, it has been definitely out of the box.”One of the main turnaround point for the Trojans was the bonding time the team endured leading up to this season. Driscoll said her team participated together in a summer league tournament and then in November before the start of the year.“The more you play, the more you connect you learn each other,” Driscoll said. “They just had to do that. I think the big part of it is that they enjoy each other. We all enjoy what we’re here for. We all have the same common goal ... the same common interest.”B-R assistant Cheryl Seavey said it is gratifying as a coach and former player to see the girls’ hard work pay off in the long run.“When you watch these girls play with all their hearts, your heart bleeds for them,” said Seavey, who is ranked ninth all-time in field goal percentage (.490) at Stonehill. “You want to be out there, you want to help them any which way you can. You realize that they are fighting just as hard for you. When things were not going well for them, they were giving it every ounce of ability, each ounce of heart and determination. So it is bitter sweet to see the results.”Seavey, who graduated B-R in 1989 and from Stonehill four years later, said the kids respect Driscoll.“She was a tremendous athlete here and at Stonehill,” Seavey said. “Megan brings enthusiasm, she brings knowledge. Both of us went through B-R, both of us when through Stonehill. Very similar systems. She has that ability to take what she knows as a player and incorporate it as a coach. A lot of good players can’t make that transition as a coach.”Driscoll will graduate only two seniors — Kasey Fries and Siena Dacey — after this season. She has good talented underclassmen — Kenneally, Keating, Tesslyn Arrighi, Rachel Fernandes, Barbara Odiah, Sophia Perez, sophomore Elise McGovern, Bridget Curley and freshan Devin Burns — ready to take the next step forward.“We’re going to learn each day,” she said. “Take from each game and moving forward. My message to them is that we don’t have to stop. We can just keep going, keep building and go from there. This program has a lot of potential. They know this and they know what they have to do.”Arrighi has already bottled up the message in her head.“We come together as a team, one family and we don’t play as individuals,” Arrighi said. “It’s a team effort. Winning gave us so much more confidence. We all know we can do it all along.”Driscoll first learned the winning ways from B-R.Now the young coach is trying to instill the same winning attitude with the players.“B-R is my second home and I want them to feel the same way I feel about the program,” Driscoll said. “I think they do. I told the kids that we are going to have each other’s back. Winning program or not, the way I view this place is more than just basketball. It is still our team, it’s still B-R and we are still a family.”